The Ultimate Guide to (Mostly) Romantic Period Dramas
In this post: The ultimate guide to romantic period dramas available to watch on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. Also includes movies that can be rented on Amazon.com.
Watching television is definitely one of my guilty pleasures. It helps me unwind in the evening, and as an empty nester, it helps fill the hours I used to spend with my kids. It sounds dramatic to say that Netflix has changed my life, but in a way, it really has. (Along with a smart TV!) A whole new world of entertainment opened up when I discovered Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. I spend my days running this blog…but when I want to kick back in the evening, I watch TV…and I am never happier than when I am watching romantic period dramas.
Finding romantic period dramas on regular cable TV is next to impossible. Not so with the movie channels. There are so many to choose from that I decided to compile this list. It’s not a “complete” list because there will always be additions and deletions. But it’s very extensive and I’ve tried to include as many movies and shows as I could find.
I’ve listed the movies and shows according to where they can be viewed. The lists themselves are in no particular order. A few things before we get to the lists.
*Affiliate links included. Click HERE for my disclosure statement.
Amazon Prime Video is free if you have an Amazon Prime account. The Prime Video app can be installed on a smart phone, tablet, or smart TV. The add-on channels available through Amazon Prime Video are not free, but you can get a free 7-day trial. The cheapest one is Acorn which is $4.99 per month and the price goes up from there. To learn more, click these links:
Netflix is also an app that can be viewed on a smart phone, tablet, or smart TV. Click HERE for more information. The first month is free and you can cancel at anytime.
The Ultimate Guide to (Mostly) Romantic Period Dramas
Romantic Period Dramas on Amazon Prime Video
(Free with an Amazon Prime Membership. View on a smart TV, smart phone, or tablet with the Amazon Prime Video app.)
Downton Abbey Seasons 1-6
Sense and Sensibility 2008 (Hattie Morahan as Elinor)
Pride and Prejudice 1995 (Masterpiece version)
Victoria Season 1
Emma 2009 (Romola Garai as Emma)
Poldark Seasons 1-3 (Season 4 airing on PBS this fall.) Watch the Season 4 trailer HERE.
The Crimson Field
Upstairs Downstairs 2011
Home Fires
Lark Rise to Candleford
Cranford
Breathe (Claire Foy)
Morning Glory (Christopher Reeve & Deborah Raffin)
Jane Eyre 2006
My Mother and Other Strangers
Indian Summers
Grantchester
Madame Bovary 2000
Wuthering Heights 2012
To Walk Invisible: The Bronte Sisters
Doctor Thorne
Miss Austen Regrets
Bomb Girls
Parade’s End
Mercy Street
Mr. Selfridge
Ladies in Lavender (Maggie Smith & Judi Dench)
Our Mutual Friend
Gone With The Wind
Basil
The Age of Innocence
Available to watch on Amazon Prime Video with an add-on subscription to PBS Masterpiece
Little Women 2018
Victoria Season 2
Northanger Abbey
Jamestown
Available to watch on Amazon Prime Video with an add-on subscription to Acorn
ANZAC Girls
A Place to Call Home Seasons 1-5 (Season 6 begins August 31.) Watch the Season 6 trailer HERE.
Available to watch on Amazon Prime Video with an add-on subscription to BritBox
Return to Cranford
The Village
Available to watch on Amazon Prime Video with an add-on subscription to Starz
Outlander
Romantic Period Dramas available to rent on Amazon.com
(movies purchased/rented on Amazon.com can be viewed on the Amazon Prime Video app.)
Sense and Sensibility 1995 (Emma Thompson as Elinor)
Pride and Prejudice 2005 (Kiera Knightly as Elizabeth)
Pearl Harbor 2001
Emma 1996 (Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma)
Miss Potter
Little Women 1994 (Susan Sarandon as Marmee)
Persuasion 1995
Becoming Jane (Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen)
Jane Eyre 2011
Far From The Madding Crowd 2015
War & Peace (BBC One/PBS 2016)
Brooklyn
The Halycon
Land Girls
Belle
Testament of Youth
Netflix is pretty far behind Amazon when it comes to offering romantic period dramas. They do have a few good shows that are definitely worth mentioning.
Romantic Period Dramas available to Watch on Netflix
The Crown Seasons 1 & 2
Anne with an “E” Seasons 1 & 2 (Loosely based on the Anne of Green Gables books)
Howards End 1992
When Calls The Heart
Godless
The Paradise
Death Comes to Pemberley
Call The Midwife Seasons 1-6
Madame Bovary 2014
North & South
The Duchess
The King’s Speech
Woman In Gold
Atonement
Madame Bovary 2014
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (coming August 10.) Watch the trailer HERE.
Here’s to many happy hours
traveling back in time!